Wrapping machine



March 11, 1958 J. H. SCHMIDT WRAPPING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1955 INVENTOR. JACK H. SCHMIDT ATTORNEY March 11, 1958 J. H. SCHMIDT WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2a, 1955 FIG3 FIG.5 56} 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY WRAPPING MACE Jack H. Schmidt, Princeton, ill, assignor, by means assignments, to The Patent and Licensing Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 23, 1955, Serial No. 536,1?6

7 Claims. (Cl. 154--l.8)

This invention relates to a wrapping machine and more particularly to a machine or apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a core.

The invention finds practical utility in the art of manufacturing fabricated chimneys, particularly those comprising a tubular core of tile, metal, or practically any material, and an outer layer or layers of insulating material, one example of which is asbestos cement. According to the present invention, the sheet material may be formed into a tube about a mandril or about a chimney section itself, either of which, on the basis of the principles of the present invention, comprises a core. The core is supported on an endless belt which is trained about a plurality of rolls in such manner that when the belt is tight or stretched between one pair of the rolls it forms a catenary on which the core is carried. However, one roll of this pair is movable toward the other so that the stretch of the belt between the rolls descends between the rolls and forms a loop that wraps partly around the core, the core and a portion of the belt forming a bite into which the asbestos cement or similar material is fed in sheet form.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to improve and simplify manufacturing processes of the general character noted above. It is an important object to provide an inexpensive and simple machine that is adaptable to cores of different sizes. Further objects reside in the arrangement of means for feeding the sheet material to the wrapping part of the apparatus, means for guiding the sheet material, means for selectively rejecting the sheet material, and means for rendering the removal of the wrapped core and replacement of another core simple and easy.

The foregoing and other important objects and desirable features inherent in and encompassed by the invention will become apparent as a preferred embodiment thereof is disclosed in detail in the following specification and accompanying sheets of drawings, the several figures of which will be described immediately below.

Figure l is a plan view of the apparatus.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a schematic view illustrating the relationship of the rolls and belt to a relatively large core.

Figure 7 is a similar view illustrating the relationship of the rolls and the belt to a relatively smaller core.

The machine or apparatus chosen for the purposes of illustration comprises a base or main frame 10 including a pair of relatively tall upright front legs 12 and a pair of relatively short rear legs 14, each of which is preferably integral with a fore-and-aft frame member 16. This base or frame serves to journel first, second and third parallel horizontal rolls 13, 2(9 and 22, respectively,

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the roll 20 being substantially directly below the roll 18 and the roll 22 being diagonally downwardly and rearwardly from the roll 18 and at about the level of the roll 20. In other words, the three rolls are located respectively at the apices of a triangle. A fourth roll 24, parallel to the other rolls and positioned rearwardly and upwardly in diagonal relationship of the roll 2%, is mounted for movement selectively toward and away from the roll 18. The means for mounting the roll 24 in this fashion comprises a swing frame 26, of inverted U-shape as viewed from the rear, the lower ends of the legs of the U being pivoted on transversely alined horizontal pivots 28 to the frame 10 at the junction of the frame members 14 and 16, and the bight of the swing frame serving as a transverse bar or handle 30 by means of which an operator may swing the roll 24 toward and away from the roll 18. The pivot 28 is in relatively close proximity to the journaling exis of the roll 22. Idler rolls 32 and 34 may be included in the roll arrangement, about all of which as a group is trained an endless belt 36 of substantial width.

The length of the belt 36 is such that when the roll 24 is in one position, relatively close to the roll 18 (Figure 6; full lines Figure 2) the upper run of the belt depends between the rolls 18 and 24 in the form of a loop 38 capable of wrapping considerably more than 180 around a core 40. In that phase of the manufacture in which the sheet material, to be described later, is formed as a tube, the core 40 is a mandril from which the formed tube is subsequently stripped and later telescoped over a chimney section. Or, the sheet material may be wrapped directly onto a chimney section, in which case the core 40 will be such section.

Material is fed to the rolls, belt and core by a conveyor 42 which comprises a feeder belt 44 wrapped around a feed roll 46 so as to have a discharge zone 4% in proximity to the front of the base 10. The feed roll 46, as well as another roll (not shown), is journaled in any suitable manner on a supporting frame 512. The sheet material is represented generally by a dot-dash line 52 and is shown as leaving the conveyor belt Mat the Zone 43 to pass over a bridge 54, thence to guide means 56 to depart from the guide means at 58 for entry into the bite 60 formed by that portion of the belt 36 that passes forwardly and downwardly about the roll 24 and downwardly and rearwardly about the core 4%. Driving means, such as a motor indicated generally at 62 and a drive chain 64, serves to drive the roll 13 so that the core rotates in the direction of the arrow as. Hence, as the core is rotated, the sheet material is drawn into the bite and one or more layers of this material may be wrapped around the core. Any suitable driving mechanism (not shown) may power the conveyor 42 in the direction of the arrow 68 and control means, not important here, may discontinue the feeding of material when a sufficient quantity thereof has been wrapped around the core, after which the operator may move the swing frame 26 to the dotted line position of Figure 2, whereupon the portion of the belt previously forming the core-receiving loop 38 stretches into catenary form, as shown at 70, so that the fore-and-aft distance between the rolls 18 and 2b is materially increased, thereby permitting removal of the wrapped core 40 and replacement of that core by an empty core, after which the process is repeated. An adjustable stop 27 (Figure 2) limits movement of the frame 36 to its rearward (dotted-line) position.

One of thet features of the invention is the mounting of the bridge means 54 and the guide means56. In the preferred embodiment shown, this is achieved by a common transverse rockshaft 72 rockably carried by upper end portions of the front legs 12 of the frame or base 10. The bridge means 54 comprises a pair of crossconnected end members '74 and a plurality of spaced apart fore-and-aft extending tines '76, each of which tines, as well as the end members, is beveled at its underside at 78 (Figure 2) so as to normally rest in close proximity to the surface of the feeder belt 44 as that belt passes rearwardly and downwardly about the feed roll 46, whereupon the sheet material 52 is caused to pass over the top side of the bridge means for passage rearwardly over the guide ss as described above. Rearwardly of the tines '76 is a pair of relatively small rollers Zitt, to facilitate material transfer. The sheet material 52 is preferably of an asbestos cement nature which is carried by the feeder belt 44 in the form of a slurry and it is therefore important that the material be properly handled in its passage from the conveyor 42. to the bite of In the event that the operator sees on the conveyor 42 a portion of the material 52 that he feels is unsatisfactory, he may reject this portion of the material by raising the bridge 54- until that portion passes, which it will do below the bridge and therefore cannot reach the bite 69. This objective is achieved by means of an actuator in the form of a pedal 82 pivoted at to the front leg 12 and connected by a link 86 to the bridge means 54. The pedal 82 is guided by a guide $53 on one rear leg 14 and a spring 90 biases the bridge to its normal position. The end members 74 of the bridge are loose on the rockshaft 72. Consequently, raising and lowering of the bridge has no effect on the guide means 55.

The guide means 56 comprises a pair of side members 92 which are fixed to and extend rearwardly from the rockshaft 72. These members 92 carry therebetween a plurality of relatively small freely journaled guide rollers 94. These rollers serve to carry the material 52 over the guide means before its entry into the bite 60. It is found expedient to add water or other suitable liquid to the material and core during the wrapping process. For this purpose, the guide means 56 suspends therebelow a transverse perforated pipe 96 to one end of which a liquid supply hose 98 is connected (Figure As will be seen, the pipe 96 is in close proximity to that portion of the belt as that passes rearwardly and downwardly about the roll 18. A valve, not shown, may be used to control the water supply.

The guide means 56 is raised and lowered in response to movement of the swing frame 26. For this purpose, the rockshaft 72 has keyed to one outer end thereof a depending arm 1% and this arm is connected at its lower end by a rearwardly extending link 102 to one leg of the swing frame 26. When the swing frame 26 and the guide means 56 are in their respective positions as shown in full lines in Figure 2, the guide means is relatively closely spaced above the core 40. However, when the swing frame is moved to its dotted line position, the guide means 56 moves upwardly about the pivot established by the rockshaft 72. The purpose of this arrangement is to afford ample clearance for removal of the wrapped core, so that the guide means does not damage the layer of wrapped material. As best shown in Figure 4, stop means is provided to limit the downward movement of the guide means. This stop means is indicated in its entirety by the numeral 104 and comprises a short arm 1%, fixed to the rockshaft 72, and engaging an adjustable screw 1% carried by an upstanding lug 110 and lockable by a jam nut 112. The lug 110 may be welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the upper end of the one frame member 12.

In order that the belt 36 may be adjusted to vary the size of the loop 38 so as to accommodate cores of different sizes, the roll 34 is vertically adjustable, as by means of a pair of slotted upright legs 114, only one of which appears in the drawing. Figure 6 shows the belt-roller-core relationship based on the arrangement shown in full lines in Figure 2. However, should it be desired to utilize a smaller core, such as that shown at 40a in Figure 7, the roll 34 may be adjusted downwardly, wherein it is shown that sufiicient length of the belt 36 has been taken up to reduce the size of the loop to that shown at 38a in order to accommodate the smaller core 4 13a. The other rolls occupy their same positions, with the exception that the roll 24 is capable of movement closer to the roll 18 than is the case in Figure 6, all of which is consistent with the use of the machine in wrapping smaller cores. In Figure 7 a bite 60a is formed in a manner similar to the formation of the bite 60 that was previously described. The stop at The may require adjustment to enable lowering of the guide means 56, but it will be readily seen that lowering is permissible because of the smaller size of the core 40a. It will also be seen that although the machine is adjusted for the maximum size core in Figures 2 and 6, the parts could be otherwise arranged to accommodate larger cores.

Another feature of the invention is the adjustability of opposite ends of the roll 20 to accommodate tapering cores. For this purpose, each of the opposite ends of the roll 20 is mounted in a vertically adjustable bearing 116 and this bearing is adjustable selectively up and down a guide leg 118 by means of a screw 126. This screw is in a bearing 122 and is threaded into a block 124 fixed to the roll bearing 116. The screw is constrained against axial movement relative to the hearing 12?; and its upper end may be squared to receive a wrench or other tool whereby it may be rotated to propel the roll bearing 116 and its block 124 upwardly or downwardly on the guide leg 113. It will be understood that the opposite end of the roll 20 is similarly mounted. These, along with other modifications, as well as the recognition of features not categorically enumerated herein, will readily occur to those versed in the art and it is therefore not desired to limit the invention to the precise details disclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a horizontal core, comprising: a base having front and rear ends; a first horizontal roll journaled on the base adjacent to the front end thereof; means driving said roll to rotate forwardly and downwardly; a second roll rotatably disposed below and parallel to the third roll; means mounting said second roll on the base means for vertical adjustment, said mounting means including a pair of uprights secured to the base, one at each end of said second roll, vertically movable bearings respectively on the uprights and respectively journaling said second roll at its ends, and means connected to the bearings for adjusting the bearings vertically on the uprights to vary the position of said second roll, each bearing means being individually adjustable to vary the axis of said second roll relative to the axes of the other rolls; a third roll journaled on the base parallel to and diagonally downwardly and rearwardly of the first roll; a fourth horizontal roll; means movable on the base at the rear end thereof and journally supporting the fourth roll for movement between a rearward position relatively remote from the first roll and diagonally upwardly and rearwardly opposite to the second roll and a forward position relatively closed spaced from said first roll and at a level above the second and third rolls; an endless belt trained about and encircling the rolls as a roup and driven by the first roll so that all the rolls and the belt travel in the same direction, said belt being of such length as to afford a forwardly moving upper run relatively tautly spanning the space between the first roll and the rearwardly positioned fourth roll so as to receive the core thereon in parallelism with the rolls, said upper run, with the core thereon, descending between the first and fourth rolls as said fourth roll is moved to its forward position, said upper run thereby affording a hanging loop at least partly wrapped about the core and rotating the core in the direction opposite to that of the rolls; and said belt as it passes forwardly and downwardly over the forwardly positioned fourth roll combining with therearwardly and downwardly moving surface of the core to form a materialreceiving bite into which the sheet material is drawn to be wrapped about the core between the outer surface of the core and the inner surface of the loop.

2. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a horizontal core, comprising: a base having front and rear ends; a first horizontal roll journaled on the base adjacent to the front end thereof; means driving said roll to rotate forwardly and downwardly; a second roll journaled on the base below and parallel to the first roll; a third roll journaled on the base parallel to and diagonally downwardly and rearwardly of the first roll; a fourth horizontal roll; means movable on the base at the rear end thereof and journally supporting the fourth roll for movement between a rearward position relatively remote from the first roll and diagonally upwardly and rearwardly opposite to the second roll and a forward position relatively closed spaced from said first roll and at a level above the second and third rolls; an endless belt trained about and encircling the rolls as a group and driven by the first roll so that all the rolls and the belt travel in the same direction, said belt being of such length as to afford a forwardly moving upper run relatively tautly spanning the space between the first roll and the rearwardly positioned fourth roll so as to receive the core thereon in parallelism with the rolls, said upper run, with the core thereon, descending between the first and fourth rolls as said fourthroll is moved to its forward position, said upper run thereby affording a hanging loop at least partly wrapped about the core and rotating the core in the direc tion opposite to that of the rolls; said belt as it passes forwardly and downwardly over the forwardly positioned fourth roll combining with the rearwardly and downwardly moving surface of the core to form a materialreceiving bite into which the sheet material is drawn to be wrapped about the core between the outer surface of the core and the inner surface of the loop; material guide means above the first roll and extending rearwardly over the loop to lead material to the bite; means mounting the guide means on the base for raising and lowering relative to the belt; and means interconnecting the guide means and the fourth roll mounting means for raising and lowering the guide means respectively in response to rearward and forward positioning of the fourth roll.

3. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a horizontal core, comprising: a base having front and rear ends; a first horizontal roll journaled on the base adjacent to the front end thereof; means driving said roll to rotate forwardly and downwardly; a second roll journaled on the base below and parallel to the first roll; a third roll journaled on the base parallel to and diagonally downwardly and rearwardly of the first roll; a fourth horizontal roll; means movable on the base at the rear end thereof and jonrnally supporting the fourth roll for movement between a rearward position relatively remote from the first roll and diagonally upwardly and rearwardly opposite to the second roll and a forward position relatively closed spaced from said first roll and at a level above the second and third rolls; an endless belt trained about and encircling the rolls as a group and driven by the first roll so that all the rolls and the belt travel in the same direction, said belt being of such length as to afford a forwardly moving upper run relatively tautly spanning the space between the first roll and the rearwardly positioned fourth roll so as to receive the core thereon, descending between the first and fourth rolls as said fourth roll is moved to its forward position, said upper run thereby affording a hanging loop at least partly wrapped about the core and rotating the core in the direction opposite to that of the rolls; said belt as it passes forwardly and downwardly over the forwardly positioned fourth roll combining with the rearwardly and downwardly moving surface of the core to form a materialreceiving bite into which the sheet material is drawn to be wrapped about the core between the outer surface of the core and the inner surface of the loop; rearwardly moving conveyor means for carrying sheet material and having a discharge portion forwardiy spaced from and in close proximity to the first roll; and means on the base and normally bridging the space between the conveyor means discharge portion and the first roll to transfer sheet material from the conveyor means and toward the bite, said bridging means being movable out of said bridging relationship to divert material from the conveyor means; and control means for positioning the bridging means.

4. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a horizontal core, comprising: a base having front and rear ends; a first horizontal roll journaled on the base adjacent to the front end thereof; means driving said roll to rotate forwardly and downwardly; a second roll journaled on the base below and parallel to the first roll; a third roll journaled on the base parallel to and diagonally downwardly and rearwardly of the first roll; a fourth horizontal roll; means movable on the base at the rear end thereof and journally supporting the fourth roll for movement between a rearward position relatively remote from the first roll and diagonally upwardly and rearwardly opposite to the second roll and a forward position relatively closed spaced from said first roll and at a level above the second and third rolls; an endless belt trained about and encircling the rolls as a group and driven by the first roll so that all the rolls and the belt travel in the same direction, said belt being of such length as to afford a forwardly moving upper run'relatively tautly spanning the space between the first roll and the rearwardly positioned fourth roll so as to receive the core thereon in parallelism with the rolls, said upper run, with the core thereon, descending between the first and fourth rolls as said fourth roll is moved to its forward position, said upper run thereby affording a hanging loop at least partly wrapped about the core and rotating the core in the direction opposite to that of the rolls; said belt as it passes forwardly and downwardly over the forwardly positioned fourth roll combining with the rearwardly and downwardly moving surface of the core to form a material-receiving bite into which the sheet material is drawn to be wrapped about the core between the outer surface of the core and the inner surface of the loop; a rockshaft carried by the base in parallelism with and proximate to the first roll; guide means secured to the rockshaft and projecting over the loop toward the bite for carrying sheet material over the first roller; means for rocking the rockshaft to lower the guide means toward the bite when the fourth roller is in its forward position and to raise the guide means when the fourth roller moves to its rearward position; rearwardly moving conveyor means for carrying sheet material and having a discharge portion forwardly spaced from and in close proximity to the rockshaft; means journaled on the rockshaft and projecting forwardly therefrom to normally bridge the space between the rockshaft and the conveyor means to transfer sheet material onto the guide means, said bridging means being movable out of said bridging relationship to divert material from the conveyor means; and control means operative independently of the position of the fourth roll for positioning the bridging means.

5. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a core, comprising: supporting structure; a plurality of parallel rolls on said structure and grouped in polygonal fashion and so spaced apart as to receive the core among them with the core parallel thereto; means mounting a first of said rolls on the supporting structure for movement relative to a second of said rolls between a first position in which the distance between said first and second rolls is greater than the diameter of the core and a second position in which the distance between said first and second rolls is less than the diameter of the core; an endless belt trained about the rolls and of such length that in the first position of said first roll a run of said belt stretches between said first and second rolls to receive the core and in the second position of said first roll the core and said run are displaced between said first and second rolls toward another of the rolls, with said run in the form or" a loop containing and at least partly encircling the core, the portion of the belt about one of said first and second rolls and contiguous with said loop forming a bite for receiving material fed thereto; means for driving the rolls and belt to rotate the core so that material fed to said bite enters between the core and said loop and is wrapped around the core; a guide member mounted on the supporting structure parallel to the rolls and movable between a first position proximate and leading to the bite and a second position retracted from proximity to said bite; and means interconnecting the guide member and the means mounting said first roll to cause movement of the guide member between its first and second positions in response, respectively, to movement of said first roll between its second and first positions.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, including: secondary material-supply means carried by the guide member and discharging adjacent to said bite.

7. Apparatus for wrapping sheet material about a core, comprising: supporting structure; a plurality of parallel rolls on said structure and grouped in polygonal fashion and so spaced apart as to receive the core among them with the core parallel thereto; means mounting a first of said rolls on the supporting structure for movement relative to a second of said rolls between a first position in which the distance between said first and second rolls is greater than the diameter of the core and a second position in which the distance between said first and second rolls is less than the diameter of the core; an endless belt trained about the rolls and of such length that in the first position of said first roll a run of said belt stretches between said first and second rolls to receive the core and in the second position of said first roll the core and said run are displaced between said first and second rolls toward another of the rolls, with said run in the form of a loop containing and at least partly encircling the core, the portion of the belt about one of said first and second rolls and contiguous with said loop forming a bite for receiving material fed thereto; means for driving the rolls and belt to rotate the core so that material fed to said bite enters between the core and said loop and is wrapped around the core; means conveying sheet material to the rolls, said conveying means including a discharge portion spaced from the bite; and means bridging the space between said discharge portion and bite, said bridging means including a part shiftable to cause diversion of the material from the bite; and control means for actuating said bridging means part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,230,750 Menzer June 19, 1917 1,790,909 Frostad Feb. 3, 1931 1,921,516 Frederick Aug. 8, 1933 

